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Comparative Sublethal Toxicity of Nine Pesticides on Olfactory Learning Performances of the Honeybee Apis mellifera

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Abstract

Using a conditioned proboscis extension response (PER) assay, honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) can be trained to associate an odor stimulus with a sucrose reward. Previous studies have shown that observations of conditioned PER were of interest for assessing the behavioral effects of pesticides on the honeybee. In the present study, the effects of sublethal concentrations of nine pesticides on learning performances of worker bees subjected to the PER assay were estimated and compared. Pesticides were tested at three concentrations. The highest concentration of each pesticide corresponded to the median lethal dose value (48-h oral LD50), received per bee and per day, divided by 20. Reduced learning performances were observed for bees surviving treatment with fipronil, deltamethrin, endosulfan, and prochloraz. A lack of behavioral effects after treatment with λ -cyalothrin, cypermethrin, τ -fluvalinate, triazamate, and dimethoate was recorded. No-observed-effect concentrations (NOECs) for the conditioned PER were derived for the studied pesticides. Our study shows that the PER assay can be used for estimating sublethal effects of pesticides on bees. Furthermore, comparisons of sensitivity as well as the estimation of NOECs, useful for regulatory purposes, are possible.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank M. Charreton and B. Roger for technical assistance in bee rearing. This work benefited from a grant by the French Ministry of the Environment (MATE-01133-Evaluation et réduction des risques lies à l’utilisation des pesticides).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Association de Coordination Technique Agricole, Maison des Agriculteurs, La Tour de Salvagny, France

    A. Decourtye & S. Cluzeau

  2. CTIS, Rillieux La Pape, France

    J. Devillers

  3. Laboratoire de Neurobiologie Comparée des Invertébrés, INRA, Bures-sur-Yvette, France

    E. Genecque & M. H. Pham-Delègue

  4. Laboratoire de Physico-Toxico-Chimie des Systèmes Naturels, UMR 5472 CNRS, Université de Bordeaux I, Talence Cedex, France

    K. Le Menach & H. Budzinski

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  1. A. Decourtye
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Correspondence to A. Decourtye.

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Decourtye, A., Devillers, J., Genecque, E. et al. Comparative Sublethal Toxicity of Nine Pesticides on Olfactory Learning Performances of the Honeybee Apis mellifera . Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 48, 242–250 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-003-0262-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-003-0262-7

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